Piling-bar.



D. W. MAIHIAS.

. FILING BAR,

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 31,1912.

Patented. Sept. 24, 1912.

jaw'd if portions of the web of the bar.

DAVID W. MA'IHIAS, 0F POTTSVILIJE, PENN SYLYANIA.

- IPILING-BAR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

Application filed January 31, 1912. Serial No. 674,593.

To aZZ whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID \V. MATHIAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pottsville, in the county of Schuylkill and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Piling-Bars, of which the following is a s'pecification.

My invention relates to metallic piling bars of the kind adapted to be driven into the ground and to interlock so as to form a practically unbroken metallic Wall of great strength and possessing more or less flexibility.

More particularly stated, I seek to provide an improved piling bar having such form as to attain the following desirable results: I. To strengthen the bars at points adjacentto the edges thereof, along the bearing planes where the bars are brought into engagement with each other by extreme angular movements of one bar relatively to another, in either of two directions. II. To give the edge of the bar a simple curve, in the nature of a reflex bend, for the purpose of rendering easy the manufacture of the bar, by rolling. III. To give the edge of the bar, and parts adjacent to such edge, a gentle rotundity coupled with increased thickness, and therefore free sharply defined bends. IV. To so locate the said thickened portions of the bar that these thickened portions serve the double purpose of receiving the maximum wear and of preventing the accidental disconnection of adjaccnt bars from eachother; V. To have certain heavy strains to coincide in direction with the planes occupied by different VI. To cause a maximum of the unavoidable strains and wear, adjacent to the edges of the bar, to be received edgewise by the portion of the bar more directly aiiected by such wear, thus rendering both the strains and the .wear as nearly harmless as possible. VII. To diminish the degree 01"- angular movement possible between adjacent bars, thus promoting the general rigidity ot' the piling wall, while allowing the latter an adequate degree of flexibility.

In the accomplishment of the objects enumerated and various other objects, I pro vide' piling bars having different forms.

For the sake of simplicity, I describe and show in the accompanying drawings a few such forms which, however, are merely representative of my invention and do not limit the. scope of the latter which is commensurate with my claims.

Reference is made to the accompanying ture along apart of its length.

The piling bar shown in Fig. 1' and at the right of Fig. 2 is made of a single piece of sheet metal and is. provided withtwo web portions 4, 4 integral with each other and meeting at an angle 5 which approximates a rightapgle. Integral with the web portions 4 are thickened portions 6 curved slightlytoward each other and thence curved away from each other and merging into edge portions 7, and latter being still further thickened, and more especially so at the points i 7, 7 The edge portions 7 and other portions adjacent thereto have very little curvature and simply revert or extend backward toward the portions 4, thus forming pockets 8, eachhaving a shape more or less analogous to that of the edge portion 7. The piling bar is provided, opposite the angle 5, with a smooth concave portion 9, the thickness of the bar between the middle of this portion and the angle 5 being greater than that of any other portion of the bar.

In the form of bar shown'at the left of Fig. 2 there are two web portions 10 which meet upon one face of the bar at an angle 11 constituting a corner. Integral with the web portions l0, 10 are thickened portions 12, 12 which 'curve slightly toward each other and then curve awa from each other. Integral with these tiickened portions 12 are edge portions 13 which are still thicker and have substantially the form of the edge portions 7 shown in Fig. 1. Peckets 15 are thus formed, these pockets being similar to the pockets 8 above described and shown in Fig. 1. The web portions 10 are bent slightly at the points 14, 14 as will be understood from the left portion of Fig. 2. My purpose in thus bending the bar at the points 14 is to give the bar such form as to'fa'cilitate its use for a corner post. In other words, this form of bar is suitable for enabling the piling fence to bend to a sharper angle than would otherwise be practicable;

As may be seen from the lower left hand portion of Fig. 3 I sometimes give my improved piling bar the form' indicated at'15, and for'convenience I call a bar of this form as a half-bar. This half-bar may be con-- nected to any one of the other piling'bars shown, by aid ofrivets 16, the piling bar with which the connection is thus made. now forming the form indicated at 4. Thehalfl bar is provided with a reverting portion 17-that is with a rounded thickened edge portion similar to those above: described with reference t6 Fl 1 apd 2.

Fig. 2 shows,-*in uli lines, two adjacent piling bars, moved; intoqrmeextreme angular lines, the relative p bars when theyar'e' 'moved into opposite position. The same figure shows, in dotted dsitions occupiedby the angular positiqn.

Fig. 3 shows several locked and so turned relatively toeach other that adjacent bars occupytheir extreme limits of movement in one direction, the piling.

; well thus having a gentle curvature and. thus being suitable for use in the construction of a caisson or coifer dam having a wall cir- -cular or elliptical for a partof its-length.

In Fig. 3 the ortion of the wall shown at the bottom of the figure is substantially straight,- while the portion shown at the top of the figure is gently curved as stated.

With the bonstruction of piling barabove described, I find it practicable to so inter lock consecutive bars that a given portion of the web of one bar is displaced, relatively to the corres mnding-portion of the web of the next successive bar, by an angular move ment representing a very smallpart of a circle. In the'particular instance shown in the upper portion of Fig. 3, the displacetiv'ely to the next successive bar may be either of two directions, the total angular. dis lacement of two adjacentbars thus in ter ocked is substantially 45 degrees and is each-other.

ment or an lar movement of each bar, relatively to t e next successive bar, is about 2% degrees. Since, however, the angular displacement or movement of one bar relathus avery small fraction of a circle.

The edge portions 7 have, when seen in cross section, such form as to appear bulbous. Each edge portion is thickened at the points 7, 7 where it engages the mating piling bars interdefined by the form of the bars.

1,oee,ses

edge portions of the next successive bars and is adapted to resist undue wear, and'rnore over wear is concentrated at these points. Again certain strains to which the bars are subjected almost constantly while in use are "manifested at these points where the Wear takes place and as a consequence are borne by surfaces which are strengthened to receive them.

The web portions 4;, 4: according to Fig. l,

and corresponding web portions shown inother figures, can bear greater strain ii? the strain be directed so as to coincide emifctly with the-direction in which these web portions extend. By giving the bar he form shown in Fig. 1, the strains in question are caused to thus coincide with the plane posh tions occupied by the web portions, and. can result these web ortions possess cache mim imum strength or the purpose of resisting such strains.

With iling bars having the forms above described the--- piling wall is not liable to become broken under ordinary. circum" stances. This is because two ad'acent pilin bars are not likely to become d The pilingswall has a degree of fleznlbility suitable for all practical purposes and at the same time has a proper amount of rigidity due to the fact that the piling bars cannot be moved beyond certain angular limits It should not be understood, from the foregoing description, that a. piling'wali con structed as above described, will'have any great degree of movement. The angular movements referred to are for the most art conferred upon the bars at the: time w on they are (ll'lVIl into the ground. If howisconnecte' ever, owing to the sur ingt-of water against ,4. r'

the piling wall there is a tendency to dis place the iling bars relatively to each other,

such disp acement is necessarily limited to the an lar limit of movement of one piling bar re atively to the next successive piling slightl thicker than the a jacent portions of sai body member, and extending toward 2': A iling bar comprising a body mam ber of s eet metal bent alonga central line extending lengthwise of said body member so as to form a continuous corner line, said lib " body member being furihm' provided with in zuvunic concave surface (Imposed opposizc mid corner line, so flmf the portion of said imdymember between said camel line and said. concave surfnCe is thicker (115m adj:1 101111 portions of said body member, said budy member being pmvided wilh thick cued edges bunt toward each other.

In testimony 'sfl'm'co'f I. have hereunto set my hand 1n prosencu of" twu subcriomg 'Wit- 12,0 messes.

1 v DAWED W. N ATIHAS.

STUART L. JOHNSON, ARTHUR Fnos'r. 

